Quoted:
I heard that the 5.56 nato ammo might become lead free. Might have a solid copper bullet. Price would be much higher.
Would solid copper be armor pearcing? If so, would it be banned from the civilian market as a result?
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Solid copper is not one of the metals listed in the rules that qualifies bullets as AP. On the other hand,
beryllium copper, which is a much tougher alloy than plain copper, IS on that list.
Solid copper has a couple of drawbacks for bullet manufacture. First, it isn't nearly dense enough to deliver kinetic energy to the target without substantial decrease in range. And while there are already copper bullets on the market, including solid copper handgun bullets, they take advantage of the inherent softness of copper to be effective. That pretty much eliminates "solid copper" from being useful as a military bullet, since the soft copper would deform without penetrating appropriately in military-type rounds.
The current lead-free 5.56mm lead-free bullets in use have a number of issues in the field. There is little reason to worry that these bullets will be an issue for civilians.